Despite challenging economic times and turbulence in both the domestic and global economies, results of a PricewaterhouseCoopers and Retail Council of Canada survey of medium and large retailers for 2008 show that Canadian retailers are continuing their vigilance against the influences of criminal activity.

Despite the existence of some proven prevention methods, corporate policies and monitoring procedures, the loss of inventory, (known as retail shrinkage), translated to just over $3 billion in losses for Canadian retailers in 2008 or $8.5 million per shopping day in Canada.

Shrink rates of the retailers surveyed ranged from 0.4 percent of net sales at the low end to 2.3 percent of net sales at the highest. 76 percent of respondents reported shrink rates below 1.25 percent of net sales.

Employee theft is the largest loss area at 35 percent, with shop theft (including organized crime activity) rated at 32 percent.

Similar to the findings of the 2007 survey, retailers also indicate a strong tendency towards prosecuting offenders caught in the act of stealing. Sixty per cent of respondents prosecute employees more than half of the time when an employee is caught stealing, while 79 per cent prosecute customers more than half of the time in the same scenario.